


Take A Look

by Darth Vader (CaptainArrow)



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Horse Racing, equine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-10-27 06:05:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10803264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainArrow/pseuds/Darth%20Vader





	1. Just the Beginning

“Tony…..Why?” The tall blonde dorito man huffed as they stepped out of the quinjet that had landed somewhere we’re farm animal feces hit his nose once the engines had stopped. Tony stepped off and patted the taller man on the shoulder and sighed, seeing as he did not listen to the mission brief like Tony had expected him to.  
  
“Listen, this is one of the great American past times, and we believe Hydra may be attempting to hold this place hostage this evening.” Tony mumbled the later part so only the other Avenger could hear it.  
  
“But what is….this? All I see is a bunch of buildings and people staring at horses. Doesn’t really seem like a place for Hydra to hold up.” Steve Rogers asked again, the one and only Captain America didn’t understand why this place also required for him to be dressed to the nines in a dark grey suit with a matching tie.  
  
Tony was dressed up as well as he lead Steve inside the center building with twin spires high above everyone else. As soon as they were inside, the party erupted it seemed around them. Dozens of people were dressed just as they were, dressed up like it was a wedding or Easter Sunday at church. Women were wearing hats twice or three times the size of their heads. The colors matched that of a spring garden, bright yellows, faded lavender, soft reds and oranges. Windows were massive on both sides of the building to let in the beautiful May sunshine into the establishment. Despite the overabundance of sunlight, soft yellow Christmas lights were hung up all along the ceiling, giving everyone a happy glow on their skin. Mint and a faint scent of alcohol hit the blonde’s nose, completely removing the smell of animals he had just encountered a few minutes before.  
  
“This, my old friend, is the Kentucky Derby. The one weekend a year that Kentucky lights up like the Superbowl. Parties last all week and people spends thousands of money watching horses run around a track like NASCAR….” Tony glanced around as people pushed past them, making sure to flash smiles at the two recognizable heroes. “....A lot of very rich, very powerful people come here as ambassadors to the sport. I am one of them, and you are going to be as well. Hydra could easily make the debt America has by holding these guys hostage.” Tony had found a secluded area, away from the mass of the party go-ers, to explain more on why Hydra was here. “The president is here for this race. Along with a few ambassadors from other countries. Hydra is set to take them after the race. Along with the winning stable owner. We are here as a deterrent for them to do so. Natasha and Clint are also around along with your buddy Falcon. So, just smile and make it known you are here. Got it big guy?” Tony asked slightly hitting Steve’s chest in a friendly manner that Steve still didn’t take light too.  
  
“Also, I got a word from Nat that there is a shapeshifter here. Some girl. Fury wants her brought in. She could pose a threat. Maybe you can go find her.” Clint bumped up to the pair and added to the conversation, sliding Steve a picture of the girl a spy had managed to get of them. Though Steve couldn’t get too much detail since her dark brown almost reddish hair covered her face and sunglasses covered up the other. He was able to pick out the name on her jacket of, what he assumed, was the team she was with. Steve nodded, now understand where and why he was here and what he needed to accomplish.  
  
“Word is she is an owner’s daughter. Very close in hand with the horses. Their team is running in the race today, so go look for them in the racing barns towards the back of the property. Typically ‘Barn 31’ is the racing barn for the Derby. Look for her and see if you can’t convince her to come back or prove she’s a shapeshifter. Sound like a plan, Rogers?” Tony asked and the blonde nodded as now he was in Captain America mode.  
  
“I still feel as if protecting the president would be a better job….” Steve mumbled and Tony shoved him towards the back doors as he rolled his eyes.  
  
Clint disappearing into the mass of people as Steve stepped out the doors. Taking in a deep breath of the air that no longer felt as heavy from all the people. He glanced around his area looking for signs of this barn he needed to stop by. He was about to take a step forward when a crowd pushed past him, they were taking pictures of a dark bay horses who kept tossing its head and glancing at the people next to it as it walked. It’s ears twitched every which way as if to capture everything in it’s surrounding area. Steve followed the group, hoping to see if this creature could lead him back towards the right barn. Sure enough, as they walked the barn numbers above the stalls got larger and larger. However this group stopped at Barn 30, but Steve had figured out the layout pattern by paying attention to how the numbers played out as they walked. Thanks to his profile, no one really questioned why he was walking in certain places. Eventually, the dark green letters spelled out ‘BARN 31’ above a the stalls. Lots of horse’s heads popped out and greeted him. Despite not enjoying the smell or the idea of being stuck here all day, he could at least appreciate the beautiful animals. He stroked a few of them on the nose as he glanced at the banners that served as doors for the stalls for the name he had read on her jacket. As he stepped towards the next stall that was on the end of this section of the barn, a winney called out and caught his attention. He glanced up to meet the soft black eyes of a black horse with a long white stripe down it’s face. It’s ears were perked towards him as it reached out with it’s long neck to smell Steve.  
  
“Well aren’t you the friendly one? You sure are a big boy. Or girl. Sorry.” Steve chuckled a little under his breath as his large hand ran up and down the muzzle of the horse. It’s muzzle raised up as it sniffed over his face and up to his hair. He chuckled and looked around, finding a small patch of grass nearby. He walked over and plucked it out and brought it over to the horse. It’s soft velvet lips found the grass in his outreached palm and quickly took it from him and chewed.  
  
“Taste good?” Steve asked in a voice soft like the one he used to talk to children or Peggy when he would visit her. The horse tossed his head before pinning its ears back and backing up into the stall behind it. It’s eyes flashing a sign of helplessness and anger, clearly something was wrong. Steve began to question what he had done wrong when two heavily vested men walked around the corner. Both had weapons on their hips and the Captain America instinct began to perk up in Steve, something was off.  
  
“I don’t believe you have clearance back here, Captain Rogers.” The taller of the two men commented in a gruff voice. Both were wearing baseball caps with the team name on it in dark red and black colors. Steve looked between the two of them before commenting back.  
  
“I didn’t mean any harm, fellas. Just wanted to come see the animals. This gu-”  
  
“Girl. She’s a girl. Captain Rogers. And you best walk away from her. Wouldn’t want a death on this glorious day.” An older man with a bald head and a five-o’clock shadow walked around the corner as well, followed by more guards at his side, his threat sounding serious now. Steve was beginning to believe that this may be an ambush. All of his super hero ticks were starting to go off as he readied himself for a fight.  
  
“She….is a beautiful creature. This….this seems like a lot for just a horse though. Don’t you think?” Steve asked as he glanced at the horse who seemed to be upset at the presences of these men.  
  
Just as he was about to return his glance to the commanding man of the group, he felt electricity run through his side at a rapid pace. It made all of his muscles clench up but he had experienced this sensation before. He quickly took note of the men around him, taking out the one to his right with a swift punch in the chest. The rest of the men began to pile on, but despite their tools and size, they had chosen to take on the super soldier. Even in close combat with weapons, Steve had the upper hand. His weight and sheer height gave him the ability to toss men different ways. Just as he was down to the last two, before getting a chance at their commanding officer, who seemed to have made a sudden disappearance in the scuffle, a mass flashed before Steve’s eyes that knocked him on his ass. He glanced up to find one of the two men on the ground, knocked out. Steve’s eyes flashed around for the mass, only to find the horse he had encountered earlier had escaped and was rearing around. The final man used Steve’s distracted mind to straddle him and began a bombardment of fists into Steve’s face. It only took two before Steve was catching them and bent his arm back until he heard a snap. He quickly rose to his feet, blood starting to drip down his lip as he walked over to the startled creature. She continued to raise on her hind legs and whinny. Other grooms were started to hear the commotion and come over to aid Steve. When she came down once to stomp a few times, he grabbed the halter around her head and started to talk to her softly.  
  
“Hey there. It’s alright. It’s all over. Thanks for your help.” He cooed as the groom's walked over, one of them being an older man looked at the scene and grabbed his walkie talkie to call the cops.  
  
“No need to call security. The Avengers have this under control.” Steve called out and he stopped his communication with the radio and nodded.  
  
The mare looked over to the guards before snorting heavily, her rear end moving around as she was still uncomfortable with the men who posed no threat. A few more snorts before she looked back to Steve. What happened next almost turned Steve’s stomach inside out.


	2. A Promise

The entire mass of the creature started to melt at a rapid pace, it reminded him almost of the lava lamps he had seen around the towers that Tony put around to keep Thor distracted. Lumps of mass dropped off the creature and into a puddle on the ground at Steve’s feet. The mass of horse settled down onto the ground and after it slowly morphed colors it stopped moving. Steve took a few steps back and glanced around at the few people who had ran to come check out the scene. His gaze returned to the blob only to find a young naked woman laying in the grass, shivering. Her ivory skin was covered in pinkish scars and her mouth was muted by ducktape. Dark reddish brown hair came past her shoulders, but that was all the cover she was getting. The super soldier’s face instantly began to heat up and flash pinks on his cheeks as he realized what was at his feet. A quick swallow of saliva and he took off his jacket, laying it over the young woman and kneeling down to try and talk to her.  
  
“Ma’am? Ma’am?” Steve as in his authority voice as he reached out to touch her shoulder, the woman jumped at his touch. Her head snapped towards him and her eyes were filled with tears. She quickly sat up and scooted away from him, mumbling something behind the duct tape covering up her mouth.  
  
“No no no….I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help. I-I didn’t mean to scare you.” Steve quickly kneeled down and signed knowing in order to give her the ability to talk, he was going to have to hurt her.  
  
“I am sorry about this….." Steve gently reached close to the piece of the steel grey tape that was flapped up, watching her ice eyes stare at him with tears still on the brim of them.  
  
For a moment he saw them flicker to slits, much like a cat as he ripped off the tape. She let out a small yelp of pain before she was rubbing her face. She muttered something in a language he didn't quite understand before she glanced at him and flashed the tiniest, quickest smile he had ever seen. He understood that as a 'thank you.' Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask her, Tony appeared as he pushed his way through the crowd that had began to form.  
  
"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you strip a girl down in public! Steve, I thought I potty trained you better than this!" Tony sighed before his eyebrows furrowed a bit at the men laying on the ground near the original location of the skirmish. He tapped the face of his watch and called in the rest of the group to pick up the men and take them back to the base.  
  
"It's a long story, but she needs to come with us," Steve calmly said to Tony as he glanced back at her, "can you walk, Ma'am?" The soldier's face was soft as he reached out a hand. She glanced down at herself and then at the men around her. She turned back to Steve and shook her head.  
  
"Then I am going to carry you, is that alright?" Steve asked again not wanting to cross any boundaries with someone who could turn into a one ton animal probably faster than he could get away.  
  
This woman almost reminded him of Ariel from the little mermaid, Tony had made Steve watch a Disney marathon during the first year after he was unfrozen. Her big blue eyes searching for threats and yet curiosity in the surrounding areas. Her dark red hair in waterfall curls around her and her pale skin made every bruise and freckle stand out more. She definitely had the soldier's attention in more than one area. The woman nodded her head and almost reached out for Steve until his jacket started to fall off her chest. Steve glanced around for something to help cover her up more. One of the blankets he had seen on the horses that were walking around was laying over the railing of the white fence surrounding the stables. He quickly rose to his feet and walked over to grab it. The man grooming the horse nearby made a grunt but then shook his head and gestured for Steve to take it. He thanked him before walking over and wrapping her up in it and scooping her up easily. She couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds. He pulled her into his chest and pushed his way through the crowd towards the quin jet that had been moved to a closer space during the moments after Tony arrived. The playboy followed behind them as Steve climbed inside and sat down in one of the chairs. Clint swiveled around in his chair and nodded to the captain before tilting his head at the woman in Steve's arms.  
  
"Again, long story. I'll tell you both on the trip home, but she needs to see Dr. Banner when we arrive." Steve explained as the loading bay door to the jet started to close. He felt something warm against his upper chest as he glanced down to see the woman resting her head against his chest. A slight pink tint came to his face before he made it disappear out of fear of Tony or Clint teasing him. Little to his knowledge, it was a little too late. Once they were safely in the air, Steve began to retell the events leading up to the moment they were in now.  
  
"So she....was a horse?" Clint asked as his eyes were fixed on the windshield of the jet.  
  
"Yes. She looked no different than any of the ones next to her. I just petted her." Steve confirmed as Clint nodded his head, having seen much weirder things in his time.  
  
"And you think it was Hydra who was involved?" Tony asked as he was staring at the girl in Steve's arms, which only made Steve flex a bit more in response.  
  
"I think. They are the only organization, that we know of, that has the powers to make people into things. I don’t know why they were in this business. There is a lot of unknowns still. But something doesn't sit well with me about this whole thing," Steve asked looking down at the young lady who was looking up at him now, "can you speak at all?" Steve asked and her facial expression seemed to fill with some sadness as she shook her head. Her delicately long fingers pointed to her throat and made a slight cut across her pale skin.  
"Typical. Remove the voice of the person who can out them." Tony shrugged before he seemed to jolt a bit. "Wait...I wonder if Dr. Cho could fix it like she fixed Barton. If she can make tissues, surely she could fix this." Tony grabbed the phone out of his pocket and walked towards the back as he dialed, who Steve assumed, was Dr. Cho. Steve leaned his head back against the walls of the jet. A tap on his chest a few times, his head quickly looked down at the lady in his arms. She flashed him a soft smile before mouthing, 'thank you', slowly so he could understand. The soldier gave her a soft smile back and nodded his head.  
  
"You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. Pinky promise." He smiled holding out his pinky finger which she wrapped her own around and smiled.  
  
He prayed she couldn't feel the pounding of his heart in his chest, it probably sounded a lot like the hoof beats on the track today.


	3. A Beautiful Rose

After some time had passed, they had finally arrived back at the secluded base. Steve still held onto the precious cargo as they walked inside the base, being surrounded by a few agents who were reporting what as on the media concerning the event. Sam, who was on babysitting duty with the new recruits, quickly controlled the situation.  
  
"Gentlemen! Please give the captain some space. We want a meeting in the briefing room in an hour concerning the event. Please gather in there. Got it?!" Sam asked and the other agents nodded and dispersed from the group. Steve's left hand man turned back to Steve and raised a brow at the woman in his arms before chuckling.  
  
"You aren't supposed to bring strippers home," He chuckled only to be glared at by two pairs of eyes rather than just one. "my bad, my bad..." He raised his hands up in defense as Steve's stone face relaxed as Dr. Cho walked up with a friendly smile on her face.  
  
"Hello there, Captain Rogers. This must be the women Mr. Stark called me about. Will you follow me with her? I think she would appreciate your presences for now. I've sent one of my nurses to retrieve her some clothing so she could be more comfortable." Dr. Cho explained as Steve followed her to the almost blaring white hospital wing of the department. She gestured for him to lay her on a hospital bed, but his heart sunk when the lady's nails dug into his arms out of fear.  
  
"It's okay. Dr. Cho is an amazing doctor, she's even fixed me up a few times. I trust her with my life." Steve calmly offered to try and calm the women he was trying to protect. She glanced up at him once before climbing down onto the bed. Dr. Cho brought over a hospital gown and quickly went around closing the mechanical blinds so the room was more private and a bit darker.  
  
"She can't wal-" Steve started to explain as she held onto the side of the bed and stood. Her legs wobbly as she was probably adjusting to standing on two legs. Steve moved around the bed swiftly and was holding out an arm for her to balance on.  
  
"Take your time. There is no rush. And I promise I wont look." He flashed a smile before covering his eyes up with a hand and looking away.  
  
He felt the weight shift on his arms a few times before a tap on his bicep told him it was safe. He glanced back to find her standing, still a little off balanced, on two feet with a gown on. He waited until she was back in the bed before he scooped up his jacket and the horse blanket and brought them over to a chair nearby so they were out of the way. Dr. Cho had a big Cheshire smile on her face as she gave an assessment of her. Steve began to explain the predicament again and that she couldn't talk due to severed chords as Dr. Banner walked in the room. She stiffened up again and Steve placed a firm hand on her shoulder.  
  
"That's Dr. Banner, he's a scientist and a well known doctor as well. He's not as friendly as Dr. Cho but he's good with super humans. You're in good hands, I promise." Steve explained and she seemed to calm a bit at his words.  
  
"Hydra is dealing with super-humans now? Seems to be a little odd but they did make the twins so maybe they are still in the business. We are gonna need a blood sample, but how about we fix those vocal chords first? So she can tell us herself, and maybe a name." Dr. Banner came over and gently laid the bed back and started to touch around her neck, she flinched at first, but relaxed.  
  
Dr. Cho brought over the arching metal scanner and placed above her, the soft blue light screen that came down was position right where Banner was touching earlier. Steve was watching when he noticed her hand closes to him, reaching for something. After a moment of hesitation, Steve slid his much larger hand into hers and squeezed. Smiling a little when he felt a squeeze back and he watched her face for signs of pain as they hit various buttons on the machine and a entered something on a computer. The machine began to whirl as it went to work, she never even flinched so it had to be painless. Dr. Cho smiled to her self slightly as she nodded and looked over her.  
  
"You brought her to the right place. The nano-molecules are repairing the nerve damaged to her vocal chords. She should be able to speak here in about a half an hour. Now, Miss, don't immediately begin to talk. You need to drink some water and slowly begin to speak. Allow the body to adjust to the vibrations for speaking. Very minimal words today. Alright?" Dr. Cho explained and she nodded. Steve glanced up at the clock on the wall and made a note of what time it was and when she could potentially start to talk.  
  
"I will leave you two in here. The machine will work on it's own. I'll be back in right at the 30 minute mark." Banner explained nodding to them both before leaving along with Dr. Cho. And suddenly, the pair was alone.  
  
At first there was several minutes of comfortable silence before Steve decided to keep the both of them entertained.  
  
"Do you remember your life before you became a horse? Hold up one finger for yes and two for now. " Steve asked and glanced down as she held up a single finger.  
  
"Do you remember having a name? I'd hate to keep calling you, 'You'" Steve asked and glanced down as she held up two fingers.  
  
"Did you even have a name?" Steve asked and she held up two again.  
  
"Would you like a name? I'm sure we can find something as beautiful as you." Steve tossed out, smirking at the pink that graced her pale skin. She held up a single finger and then waited for help. Steve got up and picked up one of the tablets he had seen Banner use. They were constantly scattered across the building so everyone could use them. This one was stuck on a Candy Crush level so Steve knew it wasn't going to affect the machine. He brought it over and looked up a list of names under the key word 'beautiful'.  
  
"You just tap my arm if one calls out to you. Deal?" Steve asked and she held up a finger. Steve began to rattle off some names waiting for any response from her until he hit a particular one and she rapidly hit his arm. He chuckled at her reaction.  
  
"Rosalind?" Steve asked for a double check and she held up one finger, and he chuckled a little to himself. "Funny you should pick that. According to this website it means 'horse' in Germanic terms and also 'beautiful rose'. I think it's a perfect fit for you. But I may just call you Rose, if that's okay." Steve winked and she let out a smile and the tiniest giggle Steve had ever heard. Both of their faces lit up with a big smile.  
  
"No more! You need to rest." Steve chuckled a little as he rolled the name around on his tongue about a dozen times. She was looking at him with a small sparkle in her eye when she smiled again, making Steve's collection of butterflies flap even harder.  
  
"It's nice to meet you Rose. I'm Steve." He changed their hand holding to a hand shake, but quickly held her hand again.


End file.
